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Lies My Father Told Me ()


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A Jewish boy grows up in 1920s Montreal with a grandfather who tells stories and a father who won't work.

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Writers:
Awards:
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 2 nominations.
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Complete, Cast awaiting verification

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Zaida
...
Harry Herman
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Annie Herman
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David Herman (as Jeffrey Lynas)
Ted Allan ...
Mr. Baumgarten
Henry Gamer ...
Uncle Benny
Barbara Chilcott ...
Mrs. Tannenbaum
Carol Lazare ...
Edna
Mignon Elkins ...
Mr. Bondy
Cleo Paskal ...
Cleo
Raymond Benoît
E.M. Margolese
S. Nirenberg
Jean Dubost
Sylvie Heppel
Victor Knight
Harry Mayerovitch
Dave Raboy
Norman Taviss
Ruth Thomas

Directed by

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Ján Kadár

Written by

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Ted Allan ... (story)
 
Ted Allan ... (screenplay)

Produced by

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Anthony Bedrich ... producer
Bill Cohan ... associate producer
Harry Gulkin ... producer
Michael Harrison ... executive producer
Arnold Issenman ... executive producer
Arnold Schniffer ... executive producer

Music by

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Sol Kaplan

Cinematography by

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Árpád Makay ... (lighting cameraman)
Paul Van der Linden ... director of photography

Editing by

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Edward Beyer
Richard Marks

Editorial Department

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Lou Graf ... assistant editor
Dagmar Hykova ... associate editor (as Dagmar Taborsky)
Brunilda Torres ... apprentice editor: film (uncredited)

Casting By

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Howard Ryshpan

Production Design by

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Michel Proulx

Art Direction by

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François Barbeau

Set Decoration by

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Normand Sarrazin

Costume Design by

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François Barbeau

Makeup Department

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Christophe Harbonville ... hair stylist / makeup artist
Marie-Angèle Protat ... assistant makeup artist

Production Management

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Peter Bedrich ... unit manager
Julian Marks ... unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Ernest Abugov ... second assistant director
Howard Ryshpan ... assistant director
Bill Schwartz ... assistant director

Art Department

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Andre Brochu ... construction supervisor
Ronald Fauteux ... props
Michel Proulx ... set designer

Sound Department

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Pierre Blain ... boom operator
Henri Blondeau ... sound
Stephen Dalby ... sound re-recordist
Normand Mercier ... boom operator
Doug Parry ... dubbing recordist
Maurice Schell ... sound editor
Dick Vorisek ... sound re-recordist (as Richard Vorisek)
Maurice Schell ... foley artist (uncredited)
Brunilda Torres ... foley artist (uncredited)

Special Effects by

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Wally Gentleman ... special effects

Camera and Electrical Department

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Buddy Bradley ... gaffer
Andy Chmura ... assistant camera
Peter Densham ... assistant camera
Lou Graydon ... grip (as Lou Graydom)
Allen Smith ... assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Lise Abastado ... wardrobe
Huguette Gagné ... assistant wardrobe

Music Department

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Sol Kaplan ... conductor

Script and Continuity Department

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France Boudreau ... script supervisor
Barbara Rittenberg ... script supervisor

Additional Crew

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Rene Balcer ... production assistant
Thor Bishopric ... stand-in
Eric Goldman ... restoration producer

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

It's the 1920's. The Hermans - Harry Herman, his wife Annie Herman née Elias, their six-year-old son David Herman, and Annie's father - are a Jewish family living in a small flat in the working class Jewish neighborhood of Montréal (in Canada). David loves his "Zaida" (grandfather) with who he spends most Sundays driving around in their horse drawn wagon collecting junk - namely "rags, clothes, bottles" - to earn money. David also loves hearing his Zaida's stories about their Jewish culture, although most of those stories are made up and not based based on religious Jewish beliefs. Those stories are only one bone of contention between religious Zaida and secular Harry, as modern thinking Harry feels the stories are old fashioned hogwash and provide David with no grounding in what is real in life. Another issue of contention is money, as Harry is always dreaming of get rich schemes - the latest being to manufacture permanently creased and thus iron-less trousers - for which Zaida will not provide unconditional funding. And a third issue is Zaida's aging horse Ferdeleh, which Harry believes would be better put to sleep. Usually, David, who is at the stage in his life where he takes most things literally, sides with his Zaida, and considers his father a liar. Caught in the middle is Annie. How to handle David becomes a larger issue when two of the most natural of events occur within their family. Written by Huggo

Plot Keywords
Taglines No one ever said it was easy being a child. See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • Les mensonges que mon père me contait (Canada, French title)
  • Isäni valheet (Finland)
  • Mentiras do Meu Pai (Portugal)
  • Ahogy én láttam (Hungary)
  • Mentiras que mi padre me contó (Argentina)
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Runtime
  • 102 min
Country
Language
Color
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Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Box Office

Budget CAD1,100,000 (estimated)

Did You Know?

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Trivia Zero Mostel was originally scheduled to appear in this movie. See more »
Movie Connections Referenced in Lies (1976). See more »
Soundtracks Rags, Clothes, Bottles See more »
Quotes Zaida, David Herman: [in a sing-song voice] Rags! Clothes! Bottles!
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